346/365: Milkweed and Friends
From the early summer, when the milkweed was still blooming and the insects were still out! Lots of bumblebees and a Japanese beetle (a nasty invasive crop pest) on this gorgeous milkweed flower umbel! Not all that many things feed on the milkweed plants themselves (monarchs are a conspicuous one, as caterpillars), but loads of insects love milkweed nectar! It's not uncommon to see far more insects than this on a cluster of milkweed flowers than this.

345/365: Beard Lichens
Lichens are awesome! Made up of organisms from 2-3 different KINGDOMS (plants and/or cyanobacteria and fungi), they generally grow harmlessly on other species or rocks. This Carolina silverbell has a healthy population of beard lichens, the long hairy ones. Fruticose lichens such as these are often considered a great sign that the air quality of the area is pretty good - they're sensitive to air pollution and aren't so abundant when the air is bad. Considering how near this tree is to two major roads, it's a little surprising, but the lichens seem to be doing well anyway.

344/365: Skink
A lot of skinks in my area start off life with a bright blue tail. It's an absolutely gorgeous color! According to a few sources I saw, the tail could indicate a toxin and warn predators. Any herp people out there want to confirm or debunk this idea? I guess I find it hard to believe we don't know if juvie skinks are toxic or not, especially given how common they are.

343/365: Brown Marmorated Stink Bugs
These insects are serious pests in the US and feed on a wide variety of fruit and vegetable crops. They also cause problems when they invade homes at this time of year. Large infestations can lead to a very stinky situation in your home!

342/365: Sharpshooter
Have any of you ever attempted to photograph a sharpshooter? They're so annoying to shoot! You approach with the camera and they scoot around to the backside of the plant. You move to the other side and they scuttle back around to the front. I got this shot by waving my hand behind the plant to make the sharpshooter come around to the front, then took the shot with the other hand. Worth it though. They may be pesty little bugs, but they are stunning!

341/365: Green Tree Frog
Because tree frogs are adorable and I can't get enough of them! These guys are probably all tucked away for the winter at this point (snow is coming!!), but they like to hang out under the covers for the big umbrellas we use for shade during programs. Whole handfuls fall out sometimes when you take the covers off!

339/365: Golden Hour
I brought my laptop to work and spent the whole day sitting in our outdoor classroom working on a writing project. It was the last warm day for a while, so I couldn't resist. This was my view, and this particular shot was taken after we closed, just before the sun dipped down behind the hill. I LOVE the way the long sunlight of fall/winter looks when it hits the dry prairie grasses! I am so lucky to get to spend so much time in this gorgeous place.

338/365: Rustic Sphinx
Head on shot of the lovely rustic sphinx moth that visited my yard during National Moth Week in July. This moth was HUGE (a little intense when it heads straight for your face out of the darkness thanks to your headlamp!) and gorgeous!

337/365: Hover Fly on Aromatic Aster
This is one of the last of the showy wildflowers blooming in my area. They're such a great, bright color at a time of year when things start browning up a lot for the winter. There are far fewer insects out now too, but some are still hanging on!

336/365: Cocoon
One of my volunteers spotted this huge cocoon a few days ago when we were out collecting bird data for a citizen science project. I asked a few entomologist colleagues to confirm my suspicions that this is a polyphemus moth cocoon and they agreed it was. New moth to add to our animal species list, which is always exciting, though wish I got to see the huge, beautiful moth that emerged from this!

335/365: Bald Cypress
This awesome tree is a deciduous conifer that loses its leaves in the fall! The common name "bald cypress" comes from its deciduous nature - it becomes bald in the winter. The leaves turns this amazing rust color before they begin to fall. The round balls are cones that contain the seeds. Such an awesome species! And it looks especially nice when the setting sun hits it and makes it look like it's on fire.

Ended the week on a really, really high note. Sophie has been a patient since she was adopted a few years ago. She developed some fear and anxiety-related behaviors. It made it hard to provide her care and for her family to have friends to the home. We enlisted the help of our friends at Sally Said So ( @sally_said_so ) to work with Sophie and her family with training so she could be happy and comfortable with vet care, visitors, walks, and all the fun things dogs get to do with their families. Her family has been very dedicated, and today was a breakthrough. Sophie took one sniff of me and immediately wanted hugs and was giving kisses. I was able to provide care with not one growl or her running away. When she jumped up to my lap, she was so happy to give kisses and get love. Guys, I am EXCITED. The time and effort put in by this family and Cameron (the trainer) have helped Sophie be so much happier. I LOVE it!!!
#igersraleigh#vetlife

334/365: Ebony Jewelwing
This is my favorite damselfly species! They're relatively large and the males are this awesome iridescent blue-green that looks marvelous against the black wings. The females aren't quite as colorful or iridescent, but they're still awfully lovely. They have this gorgeous, fluttery flight and they enjoy dappled sunlight alongside streams. You can tell females like this apart very easily from the males - there's no white splotch on male wings.

332/365: Pupa
Check out this awesome pupa! So hairy, so green. Wonder what kind of moth this will turn into... (Update: this may be an orbweaver spider cocoon instead of a moth!)

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331/365: Harvestman
Was photographing ladybugs on our office exterior again today (not sure why they want into our lovely construction trailer so badly!), and noticed a lot of the played dead and dropped off the wall onto the ground as I approached. The ladybug that this photo was supposed to feature dropped off the wall right as I hit the button on my phone. Happily, it disturbed this lovely harvestman (aka, daddy long legs) and it dashed into the frame right when the photo was taken. And just because I need to say this every time I post a photo of one, daddy long legs are NOT the most venomous spiders in the world! They're not technically spiders in the first place (one body segment instead of two - they're in a separate arachnid family from the spiders), but they also DO NOT HAVE VENOM! Hard to be the most venomous spider in the world when you're neither a spider nor have venom. :)